Data recording apparatus and method, and data reproducing apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a system for distributing and purchasing contents data by way of wired and wireless communication means, said system comprises an accumulating section ( 33 ) for accumulating a plurality of contents data, an input operation section ( 23 ) to be used for selecting contents data from those accumulated in the accumulating section ( 3 ), a memory section ( 21 ) for storing the contents data selected by way of the input operation section ( 23 ), a purchase history memory section ( 33 ) for storing the package media purchase history of each user in the actual world and a control section ( 39 ) for controlling a recording means according to the purchase history stored in the purchase history memory section ( 33 ). With this arrangement, the purchase history of package media is controlled by the purchase history memory section ( 33 ). Then, it is possible to provide a special discount service or the like to users/customers who have purchased package media by using the purchase history stored in the purchase history memory section ( 33 ) when the user/customer records or reproduces contents data.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a data recording apparatus, adata recording method, a data reproducing apparatus and a datareproducing method that are designed to activate both the marketdistributing contents data by means of package media and the marketdistributing contents data by way of wired and wireless communicationmeans by discounting the price of the contents data being purchased by acustomer by way of a wired or wireless communication means depending onthe purchase history of package media of the customer and alsodiscounting the price of the package media being purchased by a customerdepending on the purchase history of contents data of the customer byway of wired and wireless communication means.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Conventionally, contents data such as audio data, image data,video data and computer programs are generally delivered in the form ofpackage media that are independent recording media such as optical discscontaining the data. Contents data are also electronically delivered byway of telecommunication networks such as Internet on a pay per deliverybasis.

[0003] Contents data are delivered more advantageously by electronicdelivery means than by package media because the former does not involveany transfer of package media that are physical objects and contentsdata can be directly transferred from a computer to another computer.Thus, electronic delivery means is highly effective for broaddistribution of contents data. On the other band, people have the desireof possessing objects and hence may not be able to satisfy the desireunless they posses the package media they want.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide adata recording apparatus, a data recording method, a data reproducingapparatus and a data reproducing method adapted to activate both themarket distributing contents data by means of package media and themarket distributing contents data by means of wired and wirelesscommunication means.

[0005] In an aspect of the invention, there is provided a data recordingapparatus comprising an accumulating section for accumulating aplurality of contents data, a selection means for selecting at least acontents data out of the plurality of contents data accumulated in theaccumulating section in response to a user/customer input, a recordingsection for recording the contents data selected by the selection meansin a memory means, a purchase history memory section for storing thepackage media purchase history of the user/customer in the actual worldand a control section for controlling the recording section according tothe purchase history stored in the purchase history memory section.

[0006] Preferably, a data recording apparatus according to the inventionfurther comprises a billing means for generating a billing data to bestored in the memory section at the time of recording the contents dataselected by the selection means in the storage section by the recordingsection according to the package media purchase history of eachuser/customer.

[0007] Preferably, a data recording apparatus according to the inventionfurther comprises an input section for inputting the user/customeridentifier of the user/customer purchasing the package media and themedia identifier of the package media, a determining section fordetermining if the media identified by the media identifier is coveredby the delivery service or not and an updating means for incrementingthe number of purchase slips stored in the purchase history memorysection and corresponding to the user/customer identifier input with themedia identifier as determined to be covered by the delivery service bythe determining section.

[0008] In the data recording apparatus, the control section controls soas to prohibit the recording section from recording the contents datatherein when the purchase history memory section does not store anypurchase history of the user/customer.

[0009] In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a datareproducing apparatus comprising an accumulating section foraccumulating a plurality of contents data, a selection means forselecting at least a contents data out of the plurality of contents dataaccumulated in the accumulating section in response to a user/customerinput, a reproducing section for reproducing the contents data selectedby the selection means, a purchase history memory section for storingthe package media purchase history of the user/customer in the actualworld and a control section for controlling the reproducing sectionaccording to the purchase history stored in the purchase history memorysection.

[0010] Preferably, a data reproducing apparatus according to theinvention further comprises a billing means for generating a billingdata at the time of reproducing by said reproducing section the contentsdata selected by the selection means on the basis of the package mediapurchase history of each user/customer.

[0011] Preferably, a data reproducing apparatus according to theinvention further comprises an input section for inputting theuser/customer identifier of the user/customer purchasing the packagemedia and the media identifier of the package media, a determiningsection for determining if the media identified by the media identifieris covered by the delivery service or not and an updating means forincrementing the number of purchase slips stored in the purchase historymemory section and corresponding to the user/customer identifier inputwith the media identifier as determined to be covered by the deliveryservice by the determining section.

[0012] In the data reproducing apparatus, the control section controlsso as to prohibit the reproducing section from reproducing the contentsdata when the purchase history memory section does not store anypurchase history of the user/customer.

[0013] In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided acommunication apparatus comprising an accumulating section foraccumulating a plurality of contents data, a purchase history memorysection for storing the package media purchase history of theuser/customer in the actual world, a transmitting section fortransmitting at least one of the plurality of contents data accumulatedin the accumulating section and the purchase history corresponding tothe user/customer to the user/customer terminal and a control sectionfor controlling the operation of recording the contents data in thememory section at the user/customer terminal according to the purchasehistory stored in the purchase history memory section.

[0014] Preferably, a communication apparatus according to the inventionfurther comprises a receiving section for receiving the user/customeridentifier of the user/customer purchasing the package media and themedia identifier of the package media, a determining section fordetermining if the media identified by the media identifier is coveredby the delivery service or not and an updating means for incrementingthe number of purchase slips stored in the purchase history memorysection and corresponding to the user/customer identifier input with themedia identifier as determined to be covered by the delivery service bythe determining section.

[0015] In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided adata recording apparatus comprising a selection means for selecting atleast a contents data out of the plurality of contents data accumulatedin an accumulating section in response to a user/customer input, arecording section for recording the contents data selected by theselection means in a memory means and a control section for controllingthe recording section according to the package media purchase history ofthe user/customer in the actual world.

[0016] Preferably, a data recording apparatus according to the inventionfurther comprises a billing means for generating a billing data at thetime of recording by the recording section of the contents data selectedby the selection means in the memory section according to the packagemedia purchase history of each user/customer.

[0017] Preferably, a data recording apparatus according to the inventionfurther comprises a reading section for reading a media identifier froma package media and a transmitting means for transmitting theuser/customer identifier with the media identifier read by the readingsection.

[0018] In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided acommunication apparatus comprising an accumulating section foraccumulating a plurality of contents data, a purchase history memorysection for storing the package media purchase history of theuser/customer in the actual world, a transmitting section fortransmitting at least one of the plurality of contents data accumulatedin the accumulating section and the purchase history corresponding tothe user/customer to the user/customer terminal and a control sectionfor controlling the operation of reproducing the contents data in thememory section at the user/customer terminal according to the purchasehistory stored in the purchase history memory section.

[0019] Preferably, a communication apparatus according to the inventionfurther comprises a receiving section for receiving the user/customeridentifier of the user/customer purchasing the package media and themedia identifier of the package media, a determining section fordetermining if the media identified by the media identifier is coveredby the delivery service or not and an updating means for incrementingthe number of purchase slips stored in the purchase history memorysection and corresponding to the user/customer identifier input with themedia identifier as determined to be covered by the delivery service bythe determining section.

[0020] In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided adata reproducing apparatus comprising a selection means for selecting atleast a contents data out of the plurality of contents data accumulatedin an accumulating section in response to a user/customer input, areproducing section for reproducing the contents data selected by theselection means and a control section for controlling the reproducingsection according to the package media purchase history of theuser/customer in the actual world.

[0021] Preferably, a data reproducing apparatus according to theinvention further comprises a billing means for generating a billingdata at the time of reproducing by the reproducing section of thecontents data selected by the selection means according to the packagemedia purchase history of each user/customer.

[0022] Preferably, a data reproducing apparatus according to theinvention further comprises a reading section for reading a mediaidentifier from a package media and a transmitting section fortransmitting the user/customer identifier with the media identifier readby the reading section.

[0023] In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided adata recording apparatus comprising an accumulating section foraccumulating a plurality of contents data, a selection means forselecting at least a contents data out of the plurality of contents dataaccumulated in the accumulating section in response to a user/customerinput, a recording means for recording the contents data selected by theselection means and stored in a memory section, a number of times ofrecording data generating section for generating number of times ofrecording data according to the number of times of recording by therecording means of the contents data in the memory section and adiscount data generating section for generating discount data to be usedat the time when the package media is purchased as a function of thenumber of times of recording data generated by the number of times ofrecording data generating section.

[0024] In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided adata reproducing apparatus comprising an accumulating section foraccumulating a plurality of contents data, a selection means forselecting at least a contents data out of the plurality of contents dataaccumulated in the accumulating section in response to a user/customerinput, a reproducing section for reproducing the contents data selectedby the selection means, a number of times of reproduction datagenerating section for generating number of times of reproduction dataaccording to the number of times of reproduction by the reproducingsection of the contents data and a discount data generating section forgenerating discount data to be used at the time when the package mediais purchased as a function of the number of times of reproduction datagenerated by the number of times of reproduction data generatingsection.

[0025] In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided adata recording method comprising a step of selecting at least a contentsdata out of the plurality of contents data accumulated in anaccumulating means in response to a user/customer input, a step ofstoring the package media purchase history of the user/customer in theactual world and a step of recording the selected contents data in amemory section according to the purchase history.

[0026] In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided adata reproducing method comprising a step of selecting at least acontents data out of the plurality of contents data accumulated in anaccumulating section in response to a user/customer input, a step ofstoring the package media purchase history of the user/customer in theactual world and a step of reproducing the selected contents dataaccording to the purchase history.

[0027] In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided acommunication method comprising a step of storing the package mediapurchase history of the user/customer in the actual world, a step oftransmitting at least a contents data out of the plurality of contentsdata accumulated in an accumulating section and the purchase history ofthe user/customer to the user/customer terminal and a step ofcontrolling the operation of recording the contents data to a memorymeans at the user/customer terminal according to the purchase history.

[0028] These and other objects of the present invention and specificadvantages that can be obtained by the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029]FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the service of a datarecording/reproduction system to which the present invention is applied.

[0030]FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the service provided by thedata recording/reproduction system of FIG. 1.

[0031]FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective views of an optical disc thatcan be used as a package media, which may be an object of discountservice when it is used for electronic music delivery by the service ofFIG. 2.

[0032]FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a recording/reproductionapparatus that can be used for the optical disc of FIG. 3.

[0033]FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a server apparatus that canbe used for electronic music delivery.

[0034]FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal that can beinstalled in a retail shop of package media.

[0035]FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a billing server apparatus.

[0036]FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the sequence of operation that isfollowed from the time when a user/customer purchases a desired packagemedia at a retail shop and the retail shop transmits the purchaser IDand the recording media ID to the server apparatus to the time when theIDs are registered in the server apparatus.

[0037]FIG. 9 is a flow chart of the sequence of operation that isfollowed from the time when a purchaser of a package media accesses theservice apparatus by way of the recording/reproduction apparatus ownedby purchaser to the time when the purchaser ID and the recording mediaID are registered in the server apparatus.

[0038]FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the sequence of operation that isfollowed from the time when a user/customer selects a desired audio databy the recording/reproduction apparatus owned by the user/customer tothe time when the selected data is downloaded for electronic musicdelivery.

[0039]FIGS. 11A and 11B are schematic illustration of the images thatcan be displayed on the display section of the recording/reproductionapparatus when an audio data is selected.

[0040]FIG. 12 is a flow chart of the sequence of operation that isfollowed when downloading purchase history from the server apparatus tothe recording/reproduction apparatus.

[0041]FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a billing system that isoperated when the audio data downloaded to the recording/reproductionapparatus is recorded.

[0042]FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating a billing system adapted tocharge according to the number of times of reproduction of the audiodata downloaded to the recording/reproduction apparatus.

[0043]FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a bill settlement processingmethod.

[0044]FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating a system for delivering datarelating to a package media only to the purchaser of the package media.

[0045]FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating another system for deliveringdata relating to a package media only to the purchaser of the packagemedia.

[0046]FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating a system for generating adiscount data according to the frequency of use of the electronic musicdelivery system by the user/customer when the user/customer purchases apackage media.

[0047]FIG. 19 is a flow chart of the sequence of operation that isfollowed when the discount data of a user/customer is confirmed at theterminal of a retail shop.

[0048]FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating another system for generatinga discount data according to the frequency of use of the electronicmusic delivery system by the user/customer when the user/customerpurchases a package media.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0049] Now, a data recording/reproduction system to which the presentinvention is applied will be described by referring to the accompanyingdrawings.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 1, the data recording/reproduction system 1 towhich the present invention is applied comprises recording/reproductionapparatus 10, 20 owned respectively by user A, user B, user C, . . . (tobe also referred to as users/customers hereinafter) and adapted torecord data in and reproduce data from a recording media that is apackage media 2, a server apparatus 30 owned by the service providerthat may be a record company or the like and adapted to accumulate audiodata to be distributed to users/customers and transmit audio data to theaccessing recording/reproduction apparatus 10 and terminals 50 owned byrespective retails stores who sell package media 2 and adapted totransmit the purchase history of each user/customer who purchased anoptical disc 4 to the server apparatus 30. The datarecording/reproduction system 1 further comprises a billing serverapparatus 60 for billing the user/customer who downloaded audio data AU.D from the server apparatus 30. In the data recording/reproductionsystem 1 having the above described configuration, therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 of the users/customers, theterminals 50 and the billing server apparatus 60 are connected to theserver apparatus 30 in Internet by way of telecommunication lines suchas ISDN (integrated services digital network) lines, CATV (cabletelevision) lines and optical cable lines.

[0051] Each user/customer has made an agreement with the record companywho runs the server apparatus 30 typically on a monthly subscription feebasis or a pay per delivery basis of paying for each delivered piece ofmusic so that he or she can download audio data AU. D he or she likeswithout limitation.

[0052] Additionally, the user/customer can acquire a music album or apiece of music of his or her favorite artist by purchasing a packagemedia 2 which may be a compact disc (to be also referred to also as CDhereinafter) or a digital versatile disc (to be also referred to simplyas DVD hereinafter) at a retail shop selling recording media that theuser/customer likes. The recording media and the containers containingthem are provided with an identifier ID for identifying each recordingmedia. When a user/customer purchases a recording media at a retailshop, the latter transmits the recording media ID of the recording mediaalong with the purchaser ID (the user/customer ID if the purchaser is asubscriber for electronic music delivery) from its terminal 50 to theserver apparatus 30.

[0053] Alternatively, it may be so arranged that the recording media IDand the purchaser (user/customer) ID are transmitted to the serverapparatus 30 automatically or by a manual operation of the user/customerwhen the package media 2, or the recording media, is set in position inthe recording/reproduction apparatus 10 owned by the user/customer.

[0054] Additionally, the user/customer can access the server apparatus30 and download desired audio data AU. D by way of therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 typically on a monthly subscriptionfee basis or a pay per tune basis. The server apparatus 30 counts thenumber of package media purchased by each purchaser (user/customer) byreferring to the purchaser (user/customer) ID so that a discount servicemay be provided in the agreement to be made for downloading audio dataAU. D from the server apparatus 30 on the basis of the number ofpurchased package media.

[0055] More specifically, referring now to FIG. 2, when theuser/customer wants to make an agreement under which he or she candownload audio data AU. D by way of Internet 3 in Step S1, the recordcompany determines if the user/customer trying to conclude the agreementis a purchaser of package media 2 or not. The record company proceeds toStep S2 when the user/customer is a purchaser of package media 2,whereas it proceeds to Step S7 when the user/customer is not a purchaserof package media 2.

[0056] Then, in Step S2, the record company determines if theuser/customer has purchased a predetermined number of package media,e.g., two or more than two package media 2, in a predetermined period oftime or not. The record company proceeds to Step S3 if the user/customerhas purchased two or more than two package media 2, whereas it proceedsto Step S4 if the user/customer has not purchased the predeterminednumber of package media. Note that the number of package media thatprovides the basis of judgment is not limited to two or more than two.

[0057] In Step S3, the record company provides a free service and doesnot bill at all if the user/customer has purchased two or more than twopackage media 2.

[0058] If the user/customer has purchased a package media 2 but has notpurchased two or more than two package media 2 in the past, the recordcompany proceeds to Step S4, where the record company charges ¥1,000 tothe user for the agreement and determines if ¥1,000 has been paid ornot. Then, the record company proceeds to Step S5 if it determines that¥1,000 has been paid, whereas it proceeds to Step S6 if it determinesthat ¥1,000 has not been paid.

[0059] In Step S5, the record company provides the service of theagreement for ¥1,000. On the other hand, it determines that theagreement has not been successfully concluded in Step S6 and hence doesnot provide any service.

[0060] If the user/customer is not a purchaser of package media 2, therecord company charges ¥2,000 to the user for the agreement anddetermines if ¥2,000 has been paid or not in Step S7. Then, the recordcompany proceeds to Step S8 if it determines that ¥2,000 has been paid,whereas it proceeds to Step S9 if it determines that ¥2,000 has not beenpaid.

[0061] In Step S8, the record company provides the service of theagreement for ¥2,000. On the other hand, it determines that theagreement has not been successfully concluded in Step S9 and hence doesnot provide any service.

[0062] With the data recording/reproduction system 1, the user/customeris provided with a discount service for EMD (electronic musicdistribution) depending on the number of package media 2 he or she haspurchased so that the user/customer who have purchased package media 2may be encouraged and motivated to subscribe for the service ofelectronic music delivery, while the user/customer of the electronicmusic delivery may be encouraged and motivated 10 purchase package media2. Therefore, the data recording/reproduction system 1 can activate boththe market of package media 2 and the market of electronic musicdistribution.

[0063] Now, an optical disc 4 that can be used as a package media 2 thatmay be an object of discount service when it is used for electronicmusic delivery by the service of the data recording/reproduction system1 to which the present invention is applied will be described byreferring to FIG. 3. The optical disc 4 is provided with an innerperipheral side non-signal recording region 4 b at the outer peripheryof the center hole 4 a that is to be engaged with the disc table of thedisc drive/operation mechanism of the recording/reproduction apparatus10, a first data recording region 4 c at the outer periphery of thenon-signal recording region 4 b, an identification data recording region4 d for recording the recording media ID and other data of the opticaldisc at the outer periphery of the first data recording region 4 c, asecond data recording region 4 e at the outer periphery of theidentification data recording region 4 d and an outer peripheral sidenon-signal recording region 4 f at the outer periphery of the seconddata recording region 4 e.

[0064] Audio data that constitute the first digital contents arerecorded in the first data recording region 4 c with the conventionalrecording format of CDs at a recording density same as that of CDs. Inother words, the audio data recorded in the first data region 4 e can bereproduced by any existing CD reproducing apparatus. Note that the firstdigital contents are audio data of a sound quality same as that ofordinary CDs. It may be needless to say that it may be audio data orimage data to be used for the purpose of advertising the digitalcontents recorded in the second data region 4 e.

[0065] The second digital contents are recorded in the second dataregion 4 e in a recording format same as that the first data region 4 cat a recording density twice as high as that of the first data region 4c. The second digital contents recorded in the second data region 4 emay or may not relate to the first digital contents. The second digitalcontents may typically be signal-compressed image data and/or text datathat may be related to the first digital contents. More specifically,they may include posters, lyric lines of songs, interview articles,guides for newly released songs and so on. The second digital contentsmay alternatively be audio data having a quality higher than the firstdigital contents. The second digital contents recorded in the seconddata region 4 e may be coded so that they may be decoded and reproducedonly when the optical disc is set in a dedicated recording/reproductionapparatus 10.

[0066] Furthermore, the identification data recording region 4 d storesthe recording media ID specific to the recording media so that theoptical disc 4 may be identified by referring to the ID as well as themanufacturing apparatus ID for identifying the apparatus that was usedfor manufacturing the optical disc 4, the copy right ID for identifyingthe owner of the copy right of the contents data and the responsibleperson who controls the copy right, the URL (uniform resource locator)for accessing the predetermined web sites on Internet that relates tothe first and second disc contents recorded on the optical disc 4 and soon.

[0067] Retail shops sell optical discs 4 as described above in the formof package media 2 containing such optical discs 4 along with cardsshowing lyric lines and leaflets illustrating artist to user/customers.Their recording media IDs may be printed on the containers of thepackage media 2 so that retail shops may recognize them.

[0068] Now, a recording/reproduction apparatus 10 to be used forreproducing an optical disc 4 will be described below. Referring to FIG.4, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 comprises an optical pickup11, an RF circuit 12 for receiving the output of the optical output 11,a servo circuit 13 for generating a focussing servo signal and atracking servo signal for the objective lens according to the output ofthe RF circuit 12, a motor 14 for driving the optical disc 4 to rotate,a demodulator 15 for demodulating the output of the RF circuit 12, anerror correction circuit 16 for correcting errors in the output of thedemodulator 15, a decoder 17 for decoding coded data, a D/A converter 18for converting digital signals into analog signals and a loudspeaker 19for outputting the audio data that has been converted into an analogsignal.

[0069] The RF circuit 12 generates RF signals, focussing error signalsand tracking error signals according to the output signal of thephotodetector that the optical pickup 11 comprises. For example, afocussing error signal is generated by means of an astigmatism methodand a tracking error signal is generated by means of 3-beam method or apush-pull method. The RF circuit 12 outputs an RF signal to thedemodulator 15 and a focussing error signal and a tracking error signalto the servo circuit 13.

[0070] The servo circuit 13 generates servo signals necessary forreproducing the optical disc 4. More specifically, the servo circuit 13generates a focussing servo signal on the basis of the focussing errorsignal so as to reduce the focussing error signal equal to 0 and theservo circuit 13 also generates a tracking servo signal on the basis ofthe tracking error signal so as to reduce the tracking error signalequal to 0. Then, the servo circuit 13 outputs the focussing servosignal and the tracking servo signal to the drive circuit of theobjective lens drive mechanism that the optical pickup 11 comprises.Then, the drive circuit controls the operation of driving the objectivelens drive mechanism that by turn drives the objective lens according tothe focussing servo signal and the tracking servo signal. Morespecifically, the drive circuit drives a biaxial actuator according tothe focussing servo signal so as to drive and displace the objectivelens in the focussing direction that is parallel to the optical axis ofthe objective lens and also drives the biaxial actuator according to thetracking servo signal so as to drive and displace the objective lens inthe tracking direction that is perpendicular to the optical axis of theobjective lens. Additionally, the servo circuit 13 outputs a servosignal for servo-controlling the motor 14 to the motor 14 so that theoptical disc 4 may be driven and controlled so as to rotate at aconstant linear velocity. The output shaft of the motor 14 is providedwith a disc table that belongs to the disc rotation operation mechanismso that the optical disc 4 rotates integrally with the output shaft at aconstant linear velocity as its center hole 4 a is engaged with the disctable.

[0071] The demodulator 15 EFM demodulates the audio data that has beenmodulated by an algorithm such as EFM (eight to fourteen modulation) andread out from the optical disc 4. The error correction circuit 16performs an error correcting operation on the audio data according to analgorithm such as the cross interleave Reed-Solomon code (CIRC) andoutputs the data that has been corrected for errors to the decoder 17.

[0072] The decoder 17 has a decoding key for decoding the secondcontents data that is encoded and recorded in the second data region 4 eof the optical disc 4. As the second contents data is input to it fromthe error correction circuit 16, it decodes the second contents data bymeans of the decoding key it stores in advance. When reproducing theaudio data downloaded to it by way of Internet 3, the decoder 17 alsodecodes the audio data by means of the decoding key it stores in advanceor the decoding key downloaded from the server apparatus 30. The decoder17 outputs the first digital contents and the second digital contents tothe D/A converter when they are audio data and outputs them to thedisplay section when they are image data.

[0073] The D/A converter 18 converts the digital signals including theaudio data input to it from the decoder 17 into analog signals andoutputs them to the loudspeaker 19. The loudspeaker 19 converts theelectric signals into sounds by electro-acoustic conversion and outputsthe sounds.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 4, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10comprises a memory section 21 for storing the audio data downloaded fromthe server apparatus 30, a billing processing section 22 for performinga billing operation when reproducing the audio data downloaded from theserver apparatus 30, an input operation section 23 for performingcharacter input operations and selective operations, a display section24 for displaying image data, a communication interface (to be referredto simply as communication I/F hereinafter) 25 to be used fortransmitting and receiving data by way of Internet 3 and a controlsection 26 for controlling the overall operation of the apparatus.

[0075] The memory section 21 typically comprises a hard disc and storesthe audio data downloaded from the server apparatus 30 along withvarious application programs such as a viewing/retrieving program to beused for viewing the home page of the server apparatus 30. The memorysection 21 additionally stores the recording media ID read out from theidentification data recording region 4 d of the optical disc 4.

[0076] The billing processing section 22 performs a billing operationwhen the audio data downloaded from the server apparatus 30 is decodedby the decoder 17 and reproduced from the recording/reproductionapparatus 10.

[0077] The input operation section 23 comprises a replay button forstarting an operation of reading the first and second digital contentsrecorded on the optical disc 4, a replay stop button for stopping thereplay operation, a forward track jump button for forwardly jumpingrecording tracks of the optical disc 4, a backward track jump button forbackwardly jumping recording tracks of the optical disc 4, a keyboardprovided with keys for inputting characters and ten keys and a mouse forinputting the cursor position on the display screen. For example, thekeyboard is used when the user/customer accesses a predetermined homepage by way of Internet 3 and inputs a URL. The mouse is used when alist of audio data that can be downloaded is displayed on the displaysection 24 and the user/customer selects one or more than one audio datato be downloaded from the audio data of the list.

[0078] The display section 24 comprises a CRT (cathode ray tube) or aliquid crystal display panel and is used to display the image datarecorded on the optical disc 4, the time for reproducing the opticaldisc 4 and information relating to the optical disc 4 such as the tracknumber that is currently reproducing data. The display section 24 alsodisplays the home page when the user/customer accesses a predeterminedURL.

[0079] The recording/reproduction apparatus 10 having the abovedescribed configuration operates in a manner as described below forreproducing an optical disc 4. As the user/customer depresses the replaybutton of the input operation section 23, the motor 14 is driven to byturn drive the optical disc 4 to rotate at a constant linear velocity.At the same time, the optical pickup 11 irradiates a light beam to thesignal recording surface of the optical disc 4. The light beam reflectedby the signal recording surface of the optical disc 4 is converted intoan electric signal by a photodetector, which then outputs the electricsignal to the RF circuit 12. The RF circuit 12 generates an RF signaland outputs it to the decoder 15. At the same time, it also generates afocusing error signal and a tracking error signal and outputs them tothe servo circuit 13.

[0080] The servo circuit 13 generates a focusing servo signal and atracking servo signal respectively according to the focusing errorsignal and the tracking error signal and outputs the error signals tothe drive circuit of the objective lens drive mechanism that the opticalpickup 11 comprises. Then, the optical pickup 11 drives the objectivelens drive mechanism in order to control the objective lens for thepurpose of focusing by driving and displacing the objective lens in thedirection of the optical axis and for the purpose of tracking by drivingand displacing the objective lens in a direction perpendicular to theoptical axis of the objective lens.

[0081] The demodulator 15 demodulates the RF signal input from the RFcircuit 12 according to the EFM (eight to fourteen modulation) algorithmand outputs the demodulated signal to the error correction circuit 16.The error correction circuit 16 performs an error correcting operationon the signal according to the CIRC algorithm and outputs theerror-corrected signal to the decoder 17. The decoder 17 decodes thesecond contents data by means of the decoding key it stores in advanceand outputs the decoded second contents data to the D/A converter 18. Ifthe first digital contents data input to the decoder 17 is not encoded,the latter forwards it to the D/A converter 18 without performing anyprocessing operation on it. The D/A converter 18 converts the digitalsignal into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal to theloudspeaker 19. Then, the loudspeaker 19 converts the electric signalinto a sound by electro-acoustic conversion and outputs the sound.

[0082] When viewing the home page of the server apparatus 30 that is tobe used for downloading audio data, the user/customer inputs the URLindicating the address of the home page by means of the keyboard and themouse of the input operation section 23. Then, the control section 26executes the viewing/retrieving program and the transmission protocolthat may be TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol). Asa result, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 accesses the serverapparatus 30 by way of Internet 3 and downloads the home page, which isthen displayed on the display section 24. Subsequently, the controlsection 26 transmits the recording media ID recorded on the optical disc4 and the user/customer ID automatically or in response to the manualoperation of the input operation section 23 to the server apparatus 30as purchase history information. As one or more than one audio data areselected for downloading by means of the mouse of the input operationsection 23, the control section 26 downloads the selected audio data andstores in the memory section 21.

[0083] When the replay button is depressed to replay the audio datadownloaded from the server apparatus 30 and stored in the memory section21, the control section 26 reads out the selected audio data from thememory section 21 and outputs it to the decoder 17 if it is encoded butoutputs the audio data to the D/A converter 18 if it is not encoded. TheD/A converter 18 converts the digital signal into an analog signal andoutputs the analog signal to the loudspeaker 19. Then, the loudspeaker19 converts the electric signal into a sound by electro-acousticconversion and outputs the sound.

[0084] When audio data are recorded or reproduced on a pay per tunebasis, the billing processing section 22 operates for billing. When apredetermined period of time has passed, the control section 26transmits the billing data recorded in the billing processing section 22to the server apparatus 30 by way of the communication I/F 25.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 5, the server apparatus 30 that electronicallydistributes music comprises a first memory section 31 where a pluralityof audio data are accumulated for the purpose of electronic musicdistribution, a second memory section 32 storing the recording media IDsof the package media 2 that are on sale in retail shops, a third memorysection 33 storing the purchase history of the package media 2, acommunication I/F 34 to be used for transmitting data to and receivingdata from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 of user/customers andthe terminals 50 of retail shops, a comparison/verification section 35for comparing each of the recording media IDs transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 of users/customers and the terminals50 of retail shops with the corresponding recording media ID recorded inthe second memory section 32 for the purpose of verification, a readonly memory (to be referred to simply as ROM hereinafter) 36, a randomaccess memory (to be referred to simply as RAM hereinafter) 37 to whichprograms stored in the ROM 36 will be downloaded, a timer 38 forchecking if a predetermined period of time has passed or not and acontrol section 39 for controlling the overall operation of theapparatus according to the program downloaded to the RAM 37.

[0086] The first memory section 31 typically comprises a large capacityhard disc, which stores a plurality of audio data to be used forelectronic music distribution. The data base formed in the first memorysection 31 for audio data will be described in greater detail below. Thedata base is configured in a manner as illustrated in Table 1 below.TABLE 1 artist name AAA BBB CCC . . . tune title a e i . b f j . c g k .d h l . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[0087] As shown in Table 1, the audio data, or tunes, of each artist aresorted in the data base formed in the first memory section 31. Forexample, audio data, or tunes, “a”, “b”, “c”, “d” are related to artistAAA and audio data, or tunes, “e”, “f”, “g”, “h” are related to artistBBB.

[0088] The data base may alternatively be configured in a manner asillustrated in Table 2 below. TABLE 2 genre lock jazz artist name AAABBB CCC . . . tune title a e i . b f j . C g k . d h l . . . . . . . . .. . . .

[0089] As shown in Table 2, artists are sorted into genres and the audiodata, or tunes, of each artist are sorted in the data base formed in thefirst memory section 31.

[0090] For example, artist AAA and BBB are sorted as lock artist andartist CCC is sorted as jazz artist. Then, audio data, or tunes, “a”,“b”, “c”, “d” are related to lock artist “AAA”.

[0091] Like the first memory section 31, the second memory section 32also comprises a large capacity hard disc, which stores data of packagemedia 2, or optical discs 4. The data of package media 2 are sorted byreferring to the record companies selling them as shown in Table 3below. TABLE 3 record company ID recording media ID album title releasedate ABC A1234 KAKIKUKEKO 14.07.2000 DEF D5678 SASISUSESO 07.06.2000 GHIG9012 TATITUTETO 01.01.2001 . . . . . . . . . . . .

[0092] For example, recording media ID “A1234” and release date“14.07.2000” related to record company ID “ABC” and stored in the database. Similarly, recording media ID “D5678” and release date“07.06.2000” are related to record company ID “DEF” and stored in thedata base. While record companies that are not providing any electronicmusic distribution service may be included, only those providingelectronic music distribution services and related record companies arestored in the above instance.

[0093] Like the first and second memory sections 31, 32, the thirdmemory section 33 also comprises a large capacity hard disc, whichstores the number of package media 2 purchased by each purchaser(user/customer). The third memory section 33 also stores the fee to becharged to each purchaser (user/customer) for electronic musicdistribution that is a function of the number of package media 2purchased by the user/customer in the past. The purchase history ofpackage media 2 stored in the data base of the third memory section 33will be specifically described by referring to Table 4 below. TABLE 4purchaser ID No. of purchased (user/customer) ID package media discountflag billing data OPQ 10 10 ¥1,000 RST 20 10 ¥1,000 UVW 30 11 ¥0    XYZ 0  0 ¥2,000 . . . . . . . . . . . .

[0094] As shown in Table 4 above, the number of purchased package media,a discount flag and a billing data are related to each purchaser(user/customer) in the data base formed in the third memory section 33.For example, the basic fee for the electronic music distribution serviceis ¥2,000 per month and no discount is made to purchasers who havepurchased 0 to 9 package media 2 and therefore the discount flag is “00”for them, whereas a discount of ¥1,000 is made to purchasers who havepurchased 10 to 29 package media 2 and therefore the discount fag is“10” for them. Similarly, a free electronic music distribution serviceis provided to purchaser who have purchased 30 or more than 30 packagemedia 2 and therefore the discount flat is “11” for them.

[0095] Thus, since the purchaser (user/customer) with ID “XYZ” haspurchased 0 package media, his or her discount flag is “00”, indicatingthat he or she is not entitled to any discount, and the billing data is¥2,000. Similarly, since the purchasers (users/customers) with IDs “OPQ”and “RST” have purchased 10 and 20 package media respectively, theirdiscount flags are equally “10”, indicating that they are entitled to adiscount of ¥1,000, and their billing data are equally ¥1,000. Finally,since the purchaser (user/customer) with ID “UVW” has purchased 30package media, his or her discount flag is “11” and the billing data is¥0.

[0096] Only the number of purchased package media is entered into thepurchaser (user/customer) ID column for any purchaser (user/customer)who has not concluded an agreement for the electronic music distributionservice yet and both the discount flag column and the billing datacolumn are left blank for him/her. Then, the server apparatus 30 caneasily make advertisement to such purchasers (users/customers) for theelectronic music distribution service. It may be so arranged that adiscount service is also provided to purchasers (users/customers) who donot subscribe for the electronic music distribution service and pays foreach recording or reproduction of contents data, using arecording/reproduction apparatus 10.

[0097] The communication I/F 34 is an interface to be used forcommunications with the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 ofusers/customers and the terminals 50 of retail shops by way of Internet3. More specifically, the communication I/F 34 receives users/customersIDs and recording media IDs from recording/reproduction apparatus 10 andtransmits audio data to recording/reproduction apparatus 10. Thecommunication I/F 34 also receives purchasers (users/customers) IDs andrecording media IDs from the terminals 50 of retail shops. Additionally,the communication I/F 34 transmits the billing data of eachuser/customer ID to the billing server apparatus 60.

[0098] Upon receiving a purchaser (user/customer) ID and one or morethan one recording media IDs from a recording/reproduction apparatus 10or the terminal 50 of a retail shop, the comparison/verification section35 firstly determines if the third memory section 33 stores thepurchaser (user/customer) ID or not and, if it the section 33 does notstores the ID, it adds the purchaser (user/customer) ID it has receivedto the third memory section. Then, the comparison/verification section35 determines if each of the recording media IDs transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 or the terminal 50, whicheverappropriate, is found in the recording media IDs stored in the secondmemory section 32. If the recording media ID is stored in the data baseof the second memory section 32, the comparison/verification section 35increments the figure in the number of purchased recording media columnof the purchaser (user/customer). Then, the comparison/verificationsection 35 updates the billing data and the discount data according tothe updated number of purchased recording media.

[0099] The timer 38 checks if a predetermined period of time has passedor not for each user/customer (purchaser) ID. Since the electronic musicdistribution service is billed on a monthly basis, the predeterminedperiod of time is a month.

[0100] When the server apparatus 30 having the above describedconfiguration receives an audio data selection signal from arecording/reproduction apparatus 10, the control section 39 transmitsthe audio data that corresponds to the selection signal and is stored inthe first memory section 31 to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10by way of the communication I/F 34.

[0101] Additionally, when the server apparatus 30 receives a purchaser(user/customer) ID who purchased a package media 2 from arecording/reproduction apparatus 10 or the terminal 50 of a retail shop,the control section 39 refers to the recording media IDs stored in theabove described data base of the second memory section 32 and updatesthe purchase history of the purchaser (user/customer) ID stored in thethird memory section 33.

[0102] Furthermore, the control section 39 transmits billing data to thebilling center in order to collect the fee for the electronic musicdistribution service from each of the subscribers when a predeterminedperiod of time, e.g., 1 month, has elapsed.

[0103] Now, the terminal 50 installed in each of the retail shops ofpackage media 2 will be described by referring to FIG. 6. The terminal50 is designed to operate like a personal computer and comprises amemory section 51 storing application programs such as an electronicmail program and a data base typically storing a customer list, acommunication I/F 52 for transmitting data to and receiving data fromthe server apparatus 30, a ROM 53 storing a control program forcontrolling the overall operation of the terminal and other data, a RAM54 for temporarily storing the control program read out from the ROM 53and other data, an input operation section 55 that typically includes akeyboard and a mouse, a display section 56 for displaying the home pageof the server apparatus 30 when accessing the latter and a CPU (centralprocessing unit) 57 for controlling the overall operation of theterminal according to the program stored in the memory section 51 andthe ROM 53.

[0104] When a user/customer purchases a desired package media 2 at aretail shop of package media 2, the shop person inputs the purchaser(user/customer) ID of the purchaser and the recording media ID of thepackage media 2 by operating the input operation section 55. Then, asthe URL for accessing the server apparatus 30 is input by way of theinput operation section 55, the transmission protocol such as TCP/IP isexecuted in the terminal 50 and the purchaser (user/customer) ID and therecording media ID are transmitted from the terminal 50 to the serverapparatus 30.

[0105] Now, the billing server apparatus 60 that performs a billingoperation for the user/customer who has downloaded an audio data fromthe server apparatus 30 will be described by referring to FIG. 7. Asshown in FIG. 7, the billing server apparatus 60 comprises a memorysection 61 storing the account data of the subscribers receiving theelectronic music distribution service, a codec 62 for coding anddecoding data, a communication I/F 63 for transmitting billing data toand receiving billing data from the server apparatus 30, a ROM 64storing a control program for controlling the entire operation of thebilling server apparatus 60 and other programs, a RAM 65 that istemporarily loaded with a program stored in the ROM 64 and a controlsection 66 for controlling the overall operation of the apparatus. Whenthe billing server apparatus 60 receives billing data from the serverapparatus 30, it operates for settlement of accounts by updating theaccount data of the users/customers of the electronic music distributionservice.

[0106] Now, the sequence of operation that is followed from the timewhen a user/customer purchases a desired package media 2 at a retailshop and the retail shop transmits the purchaser ID and the recordingmedia ID of the package media 2 to the server apparatus 30 to the timewhen the IDs are registered in the server apparatus 30 will be describedby referring to FIG. 8.

[0107] Referring to FIG. 8, firstly, as the user/customer purchases apackage media 2 at the retail shop, the shop person inputs the URL ofthe server apparatus 30 by operating the input operation section 55 soas to make the terminal 50 access to the server apparatus 30 in StepS11. Then, in Step S12, upon receiving the access request from theterminal 50, the server apparatus 30 transmits an input request to theterminal 50 for inputting the purchaser (user/customer) ID of thepurchaser of the package media 2 and the recording media ID of thepackage media 2.

[0108] As the terminal 50 receives the input request for the purchaser(user/customer) ID and the recording media ID from the server apparatus30, the terminal 50 firstly displays an image to be used for inputtingthe purchaser (user/customer) ID and the recording media ID on thedisplay section 56. Then, in Step S13, the shop person of the retailshop indicates the column for inputting the purchaser (user/customer) IDand the recording media ID typically by means of the mouse of the inputoperation section 55 and then actually inputs the purchaser(user/customer) ID and the recording media ID by means of the keyboard.In Step S14, as the shop person operates the terminal 50 for the purposeof transmitting these data, the terminal 50 executes the transmissionprotocol that may be TCP/IP and actually transmits the purchaser(user/customer) ID and the recording media ID to the server apparatus30.

[0109] Then, as shown in FIG. 5, as the server apparatus 30 receives thepurchaser (user/customer) ID and the recording media ID from theterminal 50 in Step S15, the control section 39 causes thecomparison/verification section 35 to operate in Step S16. Thecomparison/verification section 35 checks if the purchaser(user/customer) ID transmitted from the terminal 50 is found in thepurchase history data base formed in the third memory section 33 or not.If the purchaser (user/customer) ID transmitted from the terminal 50 isfound in the purchase history data base in the third memory section 33,the comparison/verification section 35 determines that the purchaser ofthe package media 2 is a registered purchaser who has purchased packagemedia 2 before and proceeds to Step S17. If, on the other hand, thepurchaser (user/customer) ID transmitted from the terminal 50 is notfound in the purchase history data base in the third memory section 33,the comparison/verification section 35 determines that the purchaser ofthe package media 2 purchased a package media 2 for the first time andproceeds to Step S21.

[0110] In Step S17, the comparison/verification section 35 determines ifthe recording media ID transmitted from the terminal 50 is found in therecording media ID data base formed in the second memory section 32 ornot. In other words, the comparison/verification section 35 determinesif the package media 2 purchased by the purchaser is an object coveredby the electronic music distribution service or not in ibis step. If therecording media ID transmitted from the terminal 50 is found in therecording medium ID data base, the comparison/verification section 35proceeds to Step S18 because the package media 2 purchased by thepurchaser is covered by the distribution service. If, on the other hand,the recording media ID transmitted from the terminal 50 is not found inthe recording medium ID data base, the comparison/verification section35 proceeds to Step S25 because the object is not covered by theelectronic music distribution service.

[0111] In Step S18, the comparison/verification section 35 incrementsthe number of package media 2 in the column of the number of purchasedpackage media of the purchaser (user/customer) ID registered in thepurchase history data base in the third memory section 33 by the numberof the package media 2 newly purchased in the retail shop. Then, thecomparison/verification section 35 updates the discount flag and thebilling data in the purchase history data base formed in the thirdmemory section 33 on the basis of the increment. Then, thecomparison/verification section 35 detects the discount flag of thepurchaser (user/customer) ID in question and generates a billing datathat is used when the purchaser of the package media 2 receives theelectronic music distribution service next time. More specifically, thecomparison/verification section 35 determines if the billing data of thepurchaser having the purchaser (user/customer) ID transmitted from theterminal 50 corresponds to free, ¥1,000 or ¥2,000.

[0112] In Step S19, the server apparatus 30 transmits the billing datathat reflects the fact that the purchaser (user/customer) ID transmittedfrom the terminal 50 has already been registered in the server apparatus30 and hence is covered by the electronic music distribution service andthe updated data including the total number of package media 2 that havebeen purchased by the purchaser to the terminal 50. In Step S20, theterminal receives the updating information from the server apparatus 30.As a result, the shop person of the retail shop selling package media 2can notify the purchaser of the package media 2 of the updated data.Thus, the purchaser of the package media 2 who has been notified of theupdated data can know the bill that will be issued to him or her whenthe purchaser receives the electronic music distribution service.

[0113] If the comparison/verification section 35 determines in the abovedescribed Step S16 that the purchaser (user/customer) ID transmittedfrom the terminal 50 is not found in the purchase history data base inthe third memory section 33, the section 35 then determines in Step S21if the recording media ID transmitted from the terminal 50 is found inthe recording media ID data base formed in the second memory section 32or not as in Step S17. In other words, the comparison/verificationsection 35 determines if the package media 2 purchased by the purchaseris an object covered by the electronic music distribution service or notin this step. If the recording media ID transmitted from the terminal 50is found in the data base, the comparison/verification section 35proceeds to Step S22 because the package media 2 purchased by thepurchaser is covered by the electronic music distribution service. If,on the other hand, the recording media ID transmitted from the terminal50 is not found in the recording medium ID data base, thecomparison/verification section 35 proceeds to Step S25 because theobject is not covered by the electronic music distribution service.

[0114] In Step S22, the comparison/verification section 35 newlyregisters the purchaser (user/customer) ID transmitted from the terminal50 in the purchase history data base formed in the third memory section33 and increments the number of package media 2 in the column of thenumber of purchased package media 2 of the purchaser (user/customer) IDby the number of the package media 2 newly purchased in the retail shop.Then, the comparison/verification section 35 updates the discount flagand the billing data in the purchase history data base formed in thethird memory section 33 on the basis of the increment. Then, thecomparison/verification section 35 detects the discount flag of thepurchaser (user/customer) ID in question and generates a billing datathat is used when the purchaser of the package media 2 receives theelectronic music distribution service. More specifically, thecomparison/verification section 35 determines if the billing data of thepurchaser having the purchaser (user/customer) ID transmitted from theterminal 50 corresponds to free, ¥1,000 or ¥2,000.

[0115] In Step S23, the server apparatus 30 newly registers thepurchaser (user/customer) ID transmitted from the terminal 50 in theserver apparatus 30 and transmits the billing data to be used for thepurchaser (user/customer) when the latter receives the electronic musicdistribution service and the updated data including the total number ofpackage media 2 that have been purchased by the purchaser to theterminal 50. In Step S24, the terminal 50 receives the updatinginformation from the server apparatus 30. As a result, the shop personof the retail shop selling package media 2 can notify the purchaser ofthe package media 2 of the updated data. Thus, the purchaser of thepackage media 2 who has been notified of the updated data can know thebill that will be issued to him or her when the purchaser receives theelectronic music distribution service.

[0116] If the comparison/verification section 35 determines in Step S17and Step S21 that the recording media ID transmitted from the terminal50 is not found in the data base and hence it is not covered by theelectronic music distribution service, the server apparatus 30 transmitsan out-of-service notice that the package media 2 is not covered by thedistribution service to the terminal 50 ane hence to the purchaser inStep S25. In Step S26, the terminal 50 receives the out-of-servicenotice. As a result, the shop person of the retail shop of the packagemedia 2 can notify the purchaser of the package media 2 that the latteris not covered by the distribution service and the purchaser of thepackage media 2 can know that he or she cannot get the benefit ofdiscount by purchasing the package media 2 when receiving the electronicmusic distribution service.

[0117] Now, the sequence of operation that is followed when auser/customer who purchased a package media 2, which is an optical disc4, in a retail shop, transmits the purchaser ID and the recording mediaID from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 owned by him- or herselfto the server apparatus 30 and the IDs are registered in the serverapparatus 30 will be described by referring to FIG. 9.

[0118] As the purchaser (user/customer) who purchased the package media2 set the latter in position in the recording/reproduction apparatus 10owned by him- or herself, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 startsreproducing the optical disc 4 in Step S31. More specifically, as shownin FIG. 4, as the user/customer depresses the replay button of the inputoperation section 23, the optical disc 4 is driven to rotate to show aconstant linear velocity by the motor 14. At the same time, the opticalpickup 11 irradiates a light beam onto the signal recording surface ofthe optical disc 4. The light beam reflected by the signal recordingsurface of the optical disc 4 is converted into an electric signal bythe photodetector, which photodetector outputs the electric signal tothe RF circuit 12. Then, the RF circuit 12 generates an RF signal andoutputs it to the demodulator 15, which demodulator 15 demodulates theinput RF signal according to the EFM algorithm and outputs thedemodulated signal to the error correction circuit 16. The errorcorrection circuit 16 by turn performs an error correcting operation onthe signal according to the CIRC algorithm and outputs theerror-corrected signal to the memory section 21. As a result, the URL ofthe server apparatus 30 and the recording media ID recorded in theidentification data recording region 4 d of the optical disc 4 aretemporarily stored in the memory section 21. Then, in Step S32, as therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 is operated by the user/customer totransmit the IDs, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 executes thetransmission protocol such as TCP/IP and transmits the recording mediaID with the purchaser (user/customer) ID stored in the memory section 21of the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 in advance to the serverapparatus 10.

[0119] As the server apparatus 30 receives the purchaser (user/customer)ID and the recording media ID from the terminal 50 in Step S33, thecontrol section 39 shown in FIG. 5 causes the comparison/verificationsection 35 to operates in Step S34. The comparison/verification section35 checks if the purchaser (user/customer) ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 is found in the purchase historydata base formed in the third memory section 33 or not. If the purchaser(user/customer) ID transmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus10 is found in the purchase history data base in the third memorysection 33, the comparison/verification section 35 determines that thepurchaser is a registered purchaser who has purchased package media 2before and proceeds to Step S35. If, on the other hand, the purchaser(user/customer) ID transmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus10 is not found in the purchase history data base in the third memorysection 33, the comparison/verification section 35 determines that thepurchaser of the package media 2 purchased a package media 2 for thefirst time and proceeds to Step S39.

[0120] In Step S35, the comparison/verification section 35 determines ifthe recording media ID transmitted from the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 is found in the recording media ID data base formed in thesecond memory section 32 or not. In other words, thecomparison/verification section 35 determines if the package media 2purchased by the purchaser is an object covered by the electronic musicdistribution service or not in this step. If the recording media IDtransmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 is found in therecording medium ID data base, the comparison/verification section 35proceeds to Step S36 because the package media 2 purchased by thepurchaser is covered by the electronic music distribution service. If,on the other hand, the recording media ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 is not found in the recording mediumID data base, the comparison/verification section 35 proceeds to StepS43 because the object is not covered by the electronic musicdistribution service.

[0121] In Step S36, the comparison/verification section 35 incrementsthe number of purchased package media 2 of the user/customer IDregistered in the purchase history of the third memory section 33. Then,the comparison/verification section 35 updates the discount flag and thebilling data in the purchase history data base formed in the thirdmemory section 33 according to the updated number of purchased packagemedia 2. Thereafter, the comparison/verification section 35 detects thediscount flag of the user/customer ID in question and generates abilling data that is used when the user/customer of therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives the electronic musicdistribution service. More specifically, the comparison/verificationsection 35 determines if the billing data of the user/customer havingthe user/customer ID transmitted from the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 corresponds to free, ¥1,000 or ¥2,000.

[0122] In Step S37, the server apparatus 30 transmits the billing datathat is applicable when the user/customer ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 has already been registered in theserver apparatus 30 and receives the electronic music distributionservice and the updated data including the total number of the purchasedpackage media 2 to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10. In Step S38,the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives the update notificationfrom the server apparatus 30. As a result, the user/customer can knowthe fee he or she should pay when he or she receives the electronicmusic distribution service.

[0123] If the comparison/verification section 35 determines in the abovedescribed Step S34 that the user/customer ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 is not found in the data base, itproceeds to Step S39, where it determines if the recording media IDtransmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 is found in thedata base of recording IDs formed in the second memory section 32 or notas in Step S25. In other words, the comparison/verification section 35determines if the package media 2 purchased by the user/customer iscovered by the distribution service or not. If the recording media IDtransmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 is found in thedata base, the comparison/verification section 35 proceeds to Step S40because the package media 2 purchased by the user/customer is covered bythe distribution service. If, on the other hand, the recording media IDtransmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 is not found inthe data base, the comparison/verification section 35 proceeds to StepS43 because the package media 2 is not covered by the distributionservice.

[0124] In Step S40, the comparison/verification section 35 newlyregisters the user/customer ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 in the purchase history data baseformed in the third memory section 33 and increments the number ofpackage media 2 purchased by the user/customer ID. Then, thecomparison/verification section 35 updates the discount flag and thebilling data in the purchase history data base formed in the thirdmemory section 33 according to the updated number of purchased packagemedia 2. Thereafter, the comparison/verification section 35 detects thediscount flag of the purchaser (user/customer) ID in question andgenerates a billing data that is used when the user/customer receivesthe electronic music distribution service. More specifically, thecomparison/verification section 35 determines if the billing data of theuser/customer having the user/customer ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 corresponds to free, ¥1,000 or¥2,000.

[0125] In Step S41, the server apparatus 30 newly registers theuser/customer ID transmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus10 in the server apparatus 30 and transmits the billing data that isapplicable when the user/customer receives the electronic musicdistribution service and the updated data including the total number ofthe purchased package media 2 to the recording/reproduction apparatus10. In Step S42, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives theupdate notification from the server apparatus 30. As a result, theuser/customer can know the fee he or she should pay when he or shereceives the electronic music distribution service.

[0126] If the comparison/verification section 35 determines in Step S35and Step S39 that the recording media ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 is not found in the data base andhence it is not covered by the electronic music distribution service,the server apparatus 30 transmits an out-of-service notice that thepackage media 2 purchased by the user/customer is not covered by thedistribution service to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 anehence to the purchaser in Step S43. The recording/reproduction apparatus10 receives the out-of-service notice from the server apparatus 30 inStep S44. As a result, the user/customer can know that he or she cannotget the benefit of discount by purchasing the package media 2 whenreceiving the electronic music distribution service.

[0127] Now, the sequence of operation that is followed an audio data isdownloaded by a recording/reproduction apparatus 10 from the serverapparatus 30 to receive the electronic music distribution service willbe described by referring to FIG. 10.

[0128] Firstly, in Step S51, the server apparatus 30 publishes a homepage for the electronic music distribution service on Internet. In StepS52, a recording/reproduction apparatus 10 accesses the home page of theserver apparatus 30 by using the URL recorded in the identification datarecording region 4 d of an optical disc 4 or acquired from a magazine orthe like. In Step S53, as the server apparatus 30 receives an accessrequest from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10, it by turn requestthe recording/reproduction apparatus 10 to input the user/customer ID.Upon receiving the input request from the server apparatus 30, therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 displays an image of the inputrequest on the display section 24 in Step S54. Then, therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 transmits the user/customer IDstored in the memory section 21 of the recording/reproduction apparatus10 automatically or in response to the manual operation of theuser/customer.

[0129] As the server apparatus 30 that is in a standby state receivesthe user/customer ID from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 inStep S55, it determines if the user/customer of the user/customer ID isa subscriber of the electronic music distribution service or not on thebasis of the user/customer ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 in Step S56. The server apparatus 30proceeds to Step S57 when it is verified that the user/customer is asubscriber, whereas it terminates the processing operation when it isnot verified that the user/customer is a subscriber.

[0130] In Step S57, the server apparatus 30 transmits a list of audiodata that can be electronically distributed to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10. As the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 receives the list of audio data from the server apparatus30 in Step S58, it displays the list on the display section 24.

[0131] The image displayed on the display section 24 shows tunes of eachrelevant artist as shown in FIG. 11A. For example, the titles of tunes“a”, “b”, “c”, “d” are displayed for artist “AAA” as those the artist.Each title of tune is accompanied by a selection check box to be usedfor downloading. Note that, in the instance of FIG. 11A, the tune “b” ofthe artist “AAA” is selected. The displayed image also has atransmission button to be used to transmit a selection signalrepresenting the selected audio data to the server apparatus 30.

[0132] An image as shown in FIG. 11B may alternatively be used. In thedisplayed image, artists are sorted into genres and the audio data, ortunes, of each artist of each genre are listed. For example, the titlesof tunes “a”, “b”, “c”, “d” are displayed for artist “AAA” as those theartist. A selection check box is provided to select the tune to bedownloaded in each tune column. Note that, in the instance of FIG. 11A,the tune “d” of the artist “AAA” and the tune “j” of the artist “CCC”are selected. The displayed image also has a transmission button to beused to transmit a selection signal representing the selected audio datato the server apparatus 30.

[0133] In Step S59, the user/customer selects one or more than one audiodata to be downloaded by operating the mouse and the keyboard of theinput operation section 23. Assume here that the user/customer selects asingle audio data. Then, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, theuser/customer selects the audio data by operating the input operationsection 23 and checking the selection check box. As the transmissionbutton is clicked by the user/customer operating the input operationsection 23, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 transmits aselection signal representing the title of the audio data to bedownloaded that is selected by the user/customer to the server apparatus30.

[0134] In Step S61, as the server apparatus 30 receives the selectionsignal from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10, it detects theaudio data corresponding to the selection signal out of the plurality ofaudio data stored in the first memory section 31. Then, in Step S62, theserver apparatus 30 transmits the audio data corresponding to theselection signal to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10. Note thatthe audio data that the server apparatus 30 transmits is a coded data.

[0135] As the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 that is in a standbystate receives the audio data transmitted from the server apparatus 30,it stores the audio data in the memory section 21 and, in Step S64, thedownloaded audio data is replayed in response to the operation of theuser/customer. The replay operation of the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 will be described in greater detail below. As shown in FIG.4, as the replay button is depressed, the control section 26 reads outthe selected audio data from the memory section 21 and outputs to thedecoder 17. The decoder 17 decodes the audio data by means of thedecoding key it stores in advance and outputs the decoded audio data tothe D/A converter 18. The D/A converter 18 converts the digital signalinto an analog signal and outputs the analog signal to the loudspeaker19. In this way, the user/customer can replay the audio data downloadedfrom the server apparatus 30.

[0136] Now, a billing operation that is executed by therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 each time an audio data isdownloaded from the server apparatus 30 will be described by referringto FIG. 12.

[0137] Firstly, in Step S71, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10accesses the home page of the server apparatus 30 by using the URLrecorded in the identification data recording region 4 d of the opticaldisc 4. Upon receiving the access request from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10, the server apparatus 30 requeststhe recording/reproduction apparatus 10 to input a user/customer ID inStep S72. Then, upon receiving the request for inputting theuser/customer ID, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 displays animage of the input request on the display section 24 and transmits theuser/customer ID stored in the memory section 21 of therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 in advance automatically or inresponse to the manual operation of the user/customer in Step S73.

[0138] As the server apparatus 30 that is in a standby state receivesthe user/customer ID from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 inStep S74, it determines if the user/customer of the user/customer ID isa subscriber of the electronic music distribution service or not on thebasis of the user/customer ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 in Step S75. The server apparatus 30proceeds to Step S76 when it is verified that the user/customer is asubscriber, and transmits the verification notice to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10, whereas it terminates theprocessing operation when it is not verified that the user/customer is asubscriber.

[0139] In Step S77, as the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 that isin a standby state receives the notice of verification transmitted fromthe server apparatus 30, it then transmits a request for acquisition ofthe package media 2 purchase history of the user/customer him- orherself in Step S78. Then, upon receiving the request for acquisition ofthe purchase history of package media 2 from the recording/reproductionapparatus 10, the server apparatus 30 extracts the user/customer ID fromthe data base formed in the third memory section 33 and transmits thehistory data of the user/customer in Step S78. More specifically, theserver apparatus 10 transmits the number of the purchased package media2 as shown in Table 4 above. It may alternatively be so arranged thatthe server apparatus 30 transmits the discount flag that corresponds tothe number of the purchased package media 2 along with the number of thepurchased package media 2.

[0140] Upon receiving the history data transmitted from the serverapparatus 30, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 input it to thebilling processing section 22 in Step S80. Then, the billing processingsection 22 generates discount data that will be applicable when theuser/customer downloads audio data on the basis of the number of thepurchased package media 2.

[0141] Thereafter, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 downloads thehistory data by following the flow chart of FIG. 12 and subsequentlydownloads the audio data from the server apparatus 30 in a manner asshown in FIG. 13.

[0142] Firstly, in Step S91, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10selects one or more than one audio data to be downloaded from the serverapparatus 30, executing the processing operations of Steps S52, S54,S58, S59 and S60. Then, in Step S92, the server apparatus 30 transmitsthe one or more than one audio data selected by therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 to the latter, executing theprocessing operations of Steps S51, S53, S55, S56, S57, S61 and S62.

[0143] Upon receiving the audio data transmitted from the serverapparatus 30, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 stores them in thememory section 11 in Step S93. Then, in Step S95, the billing processingsection 22 of the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 counts the numberof tunes of the audio data stored in the memory section 21. Thereafter,the billing processing section 22 bills the downloaded audio data at arate of ¥100 per tune, for example, and stores the bill.

[0144] For reproducing one of the downloaded audio data in Step S96, thecontrol section 26 reads the selected audio data from the memory section21 and outputs it to the decoder 17. The decoder 17 decodes the audiodata by means of the decoding key it stores in advance and outputs thedecoded audio data to the D/A converter 18. The D/A converter 18converts the digital signal into an analog signal and outputs the analogsignal to the loudspeaker 19. In this way, the user/customer can replaythe audio data downloaded from the server apparatus 30.

[0145] In Step S97, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 determinesif a predetermined period of time, which may for example a month, haspassed or not. It proceeds to Step S98 if the predetermined period oftime has passed, whereas it repeats the processing operations from StepS91 on if the predetermined period of time has not passed. In otherwords, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 makes calculations toproduce an amount of money as a function of the number of downloadedtunes on a monthly basis.

[0146] In Step S98, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 transmits abilling data to the server apparatus 30. The billing data is obtained bydeducting the amount to be discounted that is provided as a benefit ofpurchasing package media 2 from the amount of money obtained as afunction of the number of downloaded tunes in the predetermined periodof time. Then, in Step S99, the server apparatus 30 receives the billingdata from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10. In this way, themanagement of the server apparatus 30 providing the electronic musicdistribution service can know the billing data on the user/customer.

[0147] While the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 performs a billingoperation each time a tune is downloaded in the instance of FIG. 13, itmay alternatively be so arranged that the server apparatus 30 performs abilling operation each time a tune is downloaded as shown in FIG. 18.

[0148] Additionally, while the audio data is downloaded to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 and the billing operation isperformed when the audio data is stored in the memory section 21 in theabove description made by referring to FIG. 13, it may alternatively beso arranged that the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 performs abilling operation when the audio data is replayed as shown in FIG. 14.

[0149] Referring to FIG. 14, in Step S101, the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 firstly selects one or more than one audio data to bedownloaded from the server apparatus 30, executing the processingoperations of Steps S52, S54, S58, S59 and S60. Then, in Step S102, theserver apparatus 30 transmits the one or more than one audio dataselected by the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 to the latter,executing the processing operations of Steps S51, S53, S55, S56, S57,S61 and S62.

[0150] As the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives the audiodata transmitted from the server apparatus 30 in Step S103, it storesthem in the memory section 11 in Step S104. Then, in Step S105, as thereplay button is depressed to replay one the downloaded audio data asshown in FIG. 4, the control section 26 reads the selected audio datafrom the memory section 21 and outputs it to the decoder 17. The decoder17 decodes the audio data by means of the decoding key it stores inadvance and outputs the decoded audio data to the D/A converter 18. TheD/A converter 18 converts the digital signal into an analog signal andoutputs the analog signal to the loudspeaker 19. In this way, theuser/customer can replay the audio data downloaded from the serverapparatus 30.

[0151] In Step S106, the billing processing section 22 of therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 counts the number of times by whichthe audio data is decoded by the decoder 17. Then, the billingprocessing section 22 bills the downloaded audio data at a rate of ¥100per tune, for example, and stores the bill.

[0152] In Step S107, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 determinesif a predetermined period of time has elapsed or not and then proceedsto Step S108 if the predetermined period of time has elapsed, whereas itrepeats the processing operations from Step S101 if the predeterminedperiod of time has not elapsed.

[0153] In other words, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 makescalculations to produce an amount of money as a function of the numberof downloaded tunes on a basis of the predetermined period of time.

[0154] In Step S108, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 transmits abilling data to the server apparatus 30. The billing data is obtained bydeducting the amount to be discounted that is provided as a benefit ofpurchasing package media 2 from the amount of money obtained as afunction of the number of downloaded tunes in the predetermined periodof time. Then, in Step S109, the server apparatus 30 receives thebilling data from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10. In this way,the management of the server apparatus 30 providing the electronic musicdistribution service can know the billing data on the user/customer.

[0155] While a billing operation is performed at therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 each time a downloaded audio data isdecoded and replayed in the instance of FIG. 14, it may alternatively beso arranged that the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 obtains thedecoding key to be used for decoding a downloaded audio data from theserver apparatus 30 each time it replay the audio data and a billingoperation is performed at the server apparatus 30 when the lattertransmits the decoding key to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10.

[0156] Now, the account settlement method used in therecording/reproduction system 1 having the above described configurationwill be described by referring to FIG. 15.

[0157] The server apparatus 30 stores billing data for eachuser/customer who subscribed typically on a monthly subscription feebasis that reflects the amount to be discount, which by turn correspondsto the number of package media 2 purchased by the user/customer, in thethird memory section 33. In the case where the billing system ofdiscounting an amount corresponding to the number of purchased packagemedia 2 from the charge for the number of tunes downloaded and stored inthe memory section 21 of the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 asshown in FIG. 13 is adopted, the billing data transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 is also stored in the memory section33. Similarly, in the case where the billing system of discounting anamount corresponding to the number of purchased package media 2 from thecharge for the number of replays as shown in FIG. 14 is adopted, thebilling data transmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 isalso stored in the memory section 33.

[0158] The server apparatus 30 determines if a predetermined period oftime, e.g., a month, has passed or not in Step S111 and proceeds to StepS112 when a predetermined period of time has already passed, whereas itrepeats the processing operation of Step S111 when a predeterminedperiod of time has not passed. Then, in Step S112, the server apparatus30 requests to access the billing server apparatus 60 with the serverID. As the billing server apparatus 60 that is in a standby state,waiting for an access request, receives the access request, it performsa verifying operation on the basis of the server ID transmitted from theserver apparatus 30 in Step S113. The billing server apparatus 60proceeds to Step S115 when the verifying operation is concludedsuccessfully, whereas it proceeds to Step S116 when the verifyingoperation is not concluded successfully.

[0159] The user/customer who possesses a recording/reproductionapparatus 10 has specified an account for the service of this system andthe billing server apparatus 60 stores a key for the user/customer thatcorresponds to the account. Therefore, when the verifying operation wasconcluded successfully, the billing server apparatus 60 transmits thekey for the user/customer to the server apparatus 30 in Step S115.

[0160] If, on the other hand, the verifying operation was not concludedsuccessfully in Step S114, the billing server apparatus 60 transmits ano-verification signal to the server apparatus 30 to notify themanagement of the server apparatus 30 and hence that of this system ofthe fact that the verifying operation was not concluded successfully andterminates the processing operation.

[0161] Then, the server apparatus 30 determines if it has received thekey for the user or not in Step S117 and proceeds to Step S118 if it hasreceived the key, whereas it repeats the processing operation of StepS117 if it has not received the key. Although not illustrated, it may beso arranged that the server apparatus 30 issues a request to the billingserver apparatus for retransmitting the key for the account and repeatsthe processing operation of Step S117. In Step S118, the serverapparatus 30 transmits the billing data of the user/customer to thebilling server apparatus 60 along with the key for the user/customer.

[0162] As the billing server apparatus 60 that is in a standby statereceives the key for the user/customer and the billing data from theserver apparatus 30 in Step S119, it updates the data base including thedata, the receipt/defrayal history and the balance on the basis of thebilling data transmitted from the server apparatus 30 for theuser/customer in Step S120.

[0163] More specifically, the billing server apparatus 60 reduces thebalance of the account of the user/customer on the basis of the billingdata transmitted from the server apparatus 30 and transfers thecorresponding amount to the account of the management of the serverapparatus 30.

[0164] With the data recording/reproduction system 1 having aconfiguration as described above, each user/customer becomes eligiblefor discounts when he or she subscribes for and receives the electronicmusic distribution service provided by the recording company on thebasis of the number of package media 2 the user/customer has purchasedso that the system encourages and motivates the purchasers of packagemedia 2 who are potential subscribers to actually subscribe for theelectronic music distribution service. Additionally, the systemencourages and motivates the subscribers of the electronic musicdistribution service to purchase package media 2. Thus, the datarecording/reproduction system 1 can activate both the marked of packagemedia 2 and that of electronic music distribution services.

[0165] While billing operations are performed for the subscribers, orthe users/customers, of an electronic music distribution service in theabove described instance, the present invention can also be applied to aservice system of distributing only to the users/customers who havepurchased a package media 2 data relating to the package media 2 such aspart of the newly released audio data of the artist of the package media2, an article of interview with the artist, an image data of the artistand/or video data relating to the artist for free of charge.

[0166] Such a system will be described in greater detail by referring tothe flow chart of FIG. 16. The recording/reproduction apparatus 10firstly accesses the home page of the server apparatus 30 by using theURL recorded in the identification data recording region 4 d of theoptical disc 4 of the package media 2 purchased by the user/customer inStep S121. Upon receiving the access request from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10, the server apparatus 30 request therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 to input the user/customer ID andthe recording media ID in Step S122. Upon receiving the input requestfrom the server apparatus 30, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10displays an image of the input request on the display section 24 andtransmits the user/customer ID and the recording media ID stored in thememory section 21 of the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 in advanceautomatically or in response to the manual operation of theuser/customer in Step S123.

[0167] As the server apparatus 30 that is in a standby state receivesthe user/customer ID from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 inStep S124, it determines if the recording media ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 is found in the data base foroptical discs 4 in the second memory section 32 or not on the basis ofthe user/customer ID and the recording media ID transmitted from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 and verify that the user/customer IDis found in the purchase history data base for package media 2 in thethird memory section 33. In other words, in this step, the serverapparatus 30 performs an operation of verifying that the data relatingto the package media 2 is distributed only to the user/customer of therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 who has purchased a package media 2.Then, the server apparatus 30 proceeds to Step S126 and transmits theverification notice to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 when theverifying operation is concluded successfully, whereas it terminates theprocessing operation so as not to transmit the data relating to thepackage media 2 to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 when theverifying operation is not concluded successfully.

[0168] As the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives the notice ofverification in Step S127, it transmits a request for downloading datarelating to the package media 2 to the server apparatus 30 in Step S128.Upon receiving the downloading request, the server apparatus 30subsequently transmits the data relating to the package media 2 to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 in Step S129. In Step S130, therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives the data transmitted fromthe server apparatus 30 and stores it in the memory section 21. When therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 reproduces the downloaded data inStep S131, the control section 26 reads out the data from the memorysection 21 in response to a manual operation of the input operationsection 23 by the user/customer. When the data is an audio data, it isoutput to the decoder 17 if it is coded, whereas it is output to the D/Aconverter 18 if it is not coded. The data decoded by the decoder 17 isoutput to the D/A converter 18. The D/A converter 18 outputs the audiodata input from the decoder 17 or the memory section 21 to theloudspeaker 19, which converts the electric signal into a sound byelectro-acoustic conversion and outputs the sound. When, on the otherhand, the downloaded data is an image data or a data of an interviewarticle, the control section 26 displays the data on the display section24. With the above described system, a special service can be providedto the users/customers who have purchased a package media 2 bycontrolling the purchase history of package media 2 in the serverapparatus 30.

[0169] While the operation of downloading data relating to package media2 is restricted in the instance of FIG. 16, the operation of reproducingdata may be restricted as shown in FIG. 17.

[0170] Referring to FIG. 17, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10firstly accesses the the home page of the server apparatus 30 by usingthe URL that may be shown in a magazine or the like in Step S141. Then,the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 selects a data relating to thepackage media 2 purchased by the user/customer and transmits a selectionsignal representing the selection to the server apparatus 30. Uponreceiving the selection signal from the recording/reproduction apparatus10, the server apparatus 30 encodes the data corresponding to thepackage media 2 in question and transmits it to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 in Step S142. Then, as therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives the data relating to thepackage media 2 and transmitted from the server apparatus 30, it storesthe data in the memory section 21 in Step S143.

[0171] Then, in Step S144, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10determines if the data relating to the package media 2 is reproduced bythe user/customer or not. The recording/reproduction apparatus 10proceeds to Step S145 if the data is reproduced, whereas it repeats theoperation of Step S144 if the data is not reproduced. In Step S145, therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 displays an image for inputting therecording media ID of the package media 2 and the user/customer ID onthe display section 24. As the recording media ID and the user/customerID are input by the user/customer, the recording/reproduction apparatus10 transmits the input recording media ID and the user/customer ID tothe server apparatus 30.

[0172] As the server apparatus 30 receives the recording media ID andthe user/customer ID transmitted from the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 in Step S146, it determines if the recording media IDtransmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 is found in thedata base for optical discs 4 in the second memory section 32 or not onthe basis of the user/customer ID and the recording media ID transmittedfrom the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 and performs an operationof verifying that the user/customer ID is found in the purchase historydata base for package media 2 in the third memory section 33. In otherwords, in this step, the server apparatus 30 verifies that the datarelating to the package media 2 is delivered only to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 of the user/customer who haspurchased a package media 2. Then, the server apparatus 30 proceeds toStep S148 when the verifying operation is concluded successfully andtransmits the decoding key for the data relating to the package media 2stored in the memory section 21 of the recording/reproduction apparatus10 in a coded state. If, on the other hand, the verifying operation isnot concluded successfully, the server apparatus 30 terminates theprocessing operation so as not to transmit the data relating to thepackage media 2 to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10.

[0173] The recording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives the decoding keytransmitted from the server apparatus 30 in Step S149 and then proceedsto Step S150.

[0174] The recording/reproduction apparatus 10 operates the controlsection 26 so as to read out the data relating to the correspondingpackage media 2 from the memory section 21. Then, the control section 26outputs the data to the decoder 17. In Step S150, the decoder 17 decodesthe data by means of the decoding key transmitted from the serverapparatus 30. If the decoded data is an audio data, the decoder 17outputs it to the D/A converter 18, which D/A converter 18 then outputsit to the loudspeaker 19. In this way, the audio data of the new releaseis replayed. If the decoded data is an image data or the like, thedecoder 17 outputs it to the display section 24 and the display section24 displays the data. With a system having a configuration as describedabove, special services may be provided to users/customers who havepurchased package media 2 by controlling the purchase history of packagemedia 2 at the server apparatus 30.

[0175] The subscription fee of the electronic music distribution serviceis deducted on the basis of the purchase history of package media 2, orthe number of purchased package media 2, of the user/customer of theelectronic music distribution service in order to encourage and motivatethe user/customer to buy more package media and use the electronic musicdistribution service more in the above description. However, accordingto the invention, it is possible to so arrange that the user/customer isencouraged and motivated to buy more package media 2 and utilize theelectronic music distribution service more by generating a discount datato be used for the user/customer when he or she purchases a packagemedia 2 on the basis of the frequency of use of the electronic musicdistribution service.

[0176] For instance, as shown in FIG. 18, firstly in Step S161, theserver 30 publishes a home page for an electronic music distributionservice on Internet 3. In Step S162, the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 accesses the home page of the server apparatus 30 by usingthe URL that may be shown on a magazine. Upon receiving the accessrequest from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10, the serverapparatus 30 issues a request for inputting the user/customer ID to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 in Step S163. Upon receiving theinput request from the server apparatus 30, the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 displays an image of the input request on the displaysection 24 in Step S164. Then, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10transmits the user/customer ID registered in advance in the serverapparatus 30 to the server apparatus 30 in response to a manualoperation of the user/customer.

[0177] As the server 30 that is in a standby state receives theuser/customer ID from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 in StepS165, it determines if the user/customer is a subscriber for theelectronic music distribution service or not on the basis of theuser/customer ID transmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus10 in Step S166. The server apparatus 30 proceeds to Step S167 if it isverified that the user/customer is a subscriber, whereas it returns toStep S163 and issues a request for inputting the user/customer ID onceagain if it is not verified that the user/customer is a subscriber.

[0178] In Step S167, the server apparatus 30 transmits a list of audiodata that can be distributed as the electronic music distributionservice to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10. Upon receiving thelist of audio data from the server apparatus 30, therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 displays it on the display section24 in a manner as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B in Step S168. Then, in StepS169, the user/customer selects the audio data to be downloaded byoperating the mouse and/or the keyboard. As the transmission button isclicked by the user, using the input operation section 23, therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 transmits a selection signalrepresenting the audio data that are selected by the user/customer fordownloading to the server apparatus 30.

[0179] Upon receiving the selection signal from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10, the server apparatus 30 detects theaudio data corresponding to the selection signal out of the plurality ofaudio data stored in the first memory section 31 in Step S171 andtransmits the one or more than one audio data that correspond to theselection signal to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 in StepS172.

[0180] The recording/reproduction apparatus 10 that is in a standbystate receives the audio data transmitted from the server apparatus 30and stores them in the memory section 21 in Step S173. Then, in StepS174, it replays the downloaded audio data in response to the manualoperation of the user/customer.

[0181] On the other hand, the after transmitting the audio data to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 in Step S172, the server apparatus30 increments the number of tunes of the user/customer ID by the numberof audio data transmitted this time in Step S175. Then, in Step S176,the server apparatus 30 determines if a predetermined period of time,e.g., a month, has passed or not. The server apparatus 30 proceeds toStep S177 if it is determined that the predetermined period of time haspassed, whereas it repeats the operation of Step S176 if it isdetermined that the predetermined period of time has not passed.

[0182] Then, in Step S177, the server apparatus 30 performs a billingoperation for each and every user/customer ID with regard to all thetunes downloaded to the user/customer during the predetermined period oftime. In this step, the server apparatus 30 generates a discount datawith which the discount rate that is applied when a user/customerpurchases package media 2 increases as a function of the total number oftunes downloaded during the predetermined period of time. Then, in StepS178, the server apparatus 30 transmits the billing data and thediscount data respectively to the billing server apparatus 60 and therecording/reproduction apparatus 10.

[0183] In Step S179, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 receivesthe discount data from the server apparatus 30. As a result, theuser/customer can know that he or she is eligible for discount whenpurchasing package media 2. For example, the user/customer may outputthe discount data onto a sheet of paper by means of a printer connectedto the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 and produce it to a retailshop when he or she purchases package media 2 next time so that theuser/customer can buy the package media 2 at a discount price.

[0184] In the above instance, the billing data and the discount datagenerated by the server apparatus 30 may alternatively be generated bythe recording/reproduction apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. 13.

[0185] In the above description, the user/customer outputs the discountdata transmitted from the server apparatus 30 to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 on a sheet of paper and uses it as adiscount coupon so that he or she can purchase package media 2 at adiscount price by producing it to the retail shop of package media 2.However, it may alternatively be so arranged that the retail shopconfirms the discount data of the user/customer who is buying packagemedia 2.

[0186] This will be described by referring to FIG. 19. Assume that theuser/customer visits the retail shop, selects package media 2 and paysthe charge for the package media 2. The shop person of the retail shopinputs the URL of the server apparatus 30 by operating the inputoperation section 55 of the terminal 50 of the shop and inputs the URLin order to access the server apparatus 30 in Step S181. Then, uponreceiving the access request from the terminal 50, the server apparatus30 issues a request for inputting the retail shop ID of the retail shopof package media 2 that is registered in the server apparatus 30 inadvance to the terminal 50 in Step S182.

[0187] Upon receiving the request for inputting the retail shop ID fromthe server apparatus 30, the terminal 50 displays an image for inputtingthe retail shop ID on the display section 56. Then, in Step S183, theshop person of the retail shop specifies the column for inputting thepurchaser (user/customer) ID and the recording media ID by means of themouse of the input operation section 55 and the retail shop ID is inputas the keyboard is operated. Then, according to the operation made bythe shop person for data transmission, the terminal 50 executes thetransmission protocol such as TCP/IP and transmits the retail shop ID tothe server apparatus 30.

[0188] As the server apparatus 30 that is in a standby state receivesthe retail shop ID from the terminal 50 in Step S184, it determines ifthe retail shop is operating on an agreement for the electronic musicdistribution service or not on the basis of the retail shop IDtransmitted from the terminal 50 in Step S185. The server apparatus 30proceeds to Step S186 if it is verified that the retail shop isoperating on an agreement, whereas it returns to Step S182 and issues arequest for inputting the retail shop ID once again if it is notverified that the retail shop is operating on an agreement.

[0189] If the retail shop ID is verified, the server apparatus 30 issuesa request for inputting the user/customer ID purchasing the packagemedia 2 to the terminal 50 in Step S186. Upon receiving the request forinputting the user/customer ID from the server apparatus 30, theterminal 50 displays an image for inputting the user/customer ID on thedisplay section 56 and the user/customer ID is input by a manualoperation of the shop person of the retail shop in Step S187. Then, theterminal 50 transmits the user/customer ID to the server apparatus 30according to the manual operation of the shop person for transmittingthe user/customer ID.

[0190] As the server apparatus 30 receives the user/customer ID in StepS 188, it then checks if the user/customer ID transmitted from theterminal 50 is found in the data base of the users/customers who havesubscribed for the electronic music distribution service or not. Then,the server apparatus 30 proceeds to Step S190 if the user/customer IDtransmitted from the terminal 50 is found in the data base, whereas itproceeds to Step S192 if the user/customer transmitted from the terminal50 is not found in the data base.

[0191] In Step S190, the server apparatus 30 transmits the discount dataof the user/customer ID to the terminal 50. As the terminal 50 receivesthe discount data in Step S191, the shop person of the retail shop canknow that the package media 2 being purchased by the user/customershould be sold at a discount price.

[0192] In Step S192, the server apparatus 30 transmits a no-discountnotice to the terminal 50. In Step S193, the shop person of the retailshop can know that no discount price is applicable to the package media2 being purchased by the user/customer. In this way, in this instance,when the user/customer purchases package media 2 in a retail shop, theshop person of the retail shop checks if a discount price is applicableto the package media 2 or not. Therefore, unlike the instance of FIG.18, the user/customer does not need to produce a sheet of paper showingthe discount data transmitted to the recording/reproduction apparatus20. This arrangement is convenient to the user/customer.

[0193] While the number of times for which audio data are transmittedfrom the server apparatus 30 to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10is counted for the purpose of generating a discount data in the instanceof FIG. 18, the discount data may alternatively be generated when thedecoding key is downloaded as shown in FIG. 20.

[0194] Referring to FIG. 20, the server apparatus 30 publishes a homepage for the electronic music distribution service on Internet in StepS101. In Step S102, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 accesses thehome page of the server apparatus 30 by means of the URL that may beshown in a magazine. Upon receiving the access request from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10, the server apparatus 30 transmits alist of audio data that can be delivered by the electronic musicdistribution service to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 in StepS103. Upon receiving the list of audio data from the server apparatus30, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 displays it on the displaysection 24 in a manner as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B in Step S104. Then,the user/customer selects audio data to be downloaded by using the mouseand/or the keyboard of the input operation section 23 in Step S105. Asthe transmission button is manually clicked by the user/customer bymeans of the input operation section 23, the recording/reproductionapparatus 10 transmits a selection signal representing the audio data tobe downloaded that are selected by the user/customer to the serverapparatus 30 in Step S106.

[0195] Upon receiving the selection signal from therecording/reproduction apparatus 10, the server apparatus 30 retrievesthe audio data corresponding to the selection signal from the pluralityof audio data in Step S107. It then encodes the one or more than oneretrieved audio data corresponding to the selection signal and transmitsthem to the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 in Step S108.

[0196] Upon receiving the audio data transmitted from the serverapparatus 30, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 stores it in StepS109. Then, in Step S120, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10determines if an operation for reproducing the audio data is performedby the user/customer or not and proceeds to Step S11 if a reproducingoperation is performed, whereas it repeats the operation of Step S120 ifno reproducing operation is performed. The recording/reproductionapparatus 10 displays an image for inputting the user/customer ID on thedisplay section 24 for the user/customer. As the user/customer ID isinput by the user/customer, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10transmits the input user/customer ID to the server apparatus 30 in StepS11.

[0197] Then, the server apparatus 30 receives the user/customer IDtransmitted from the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 in Step S112and verifies the user/customer ID by comparing it with the correspondinguser/customer ID registered in advance in Step S113. If theuser/customer ID is verified, the server apparatus 30 proceeds to StepS114, where it transmits the decoding key for decoding the coded audiodata that are stored in the memory section 21 of therecording/reproduction apparatus 10 to the recording/reproductionapparatus 10. If, on the other hand, the user/customer ID is notverified, it terminate the processing operation.

[0198] The recording/reproduction apparatus 10 receives the decoding keytransmitted from the server apparatus 30 in Step S115 and causes thecontrol section 26 to operate and read the audio data from the memorysection 21 in Step S116. Then, the control section 26 outputs the audiodata to the decoder 17. In Step S117, the decoder 17 decodes the audiodata by means of the decoding key transmitted from the server apparatus30. Then, the decoder 17 outputs the decoded audio data to the D/Aconverter 18, which D/A converter 18 then outputs it to the loudspeaker19. In this way, the audio data downloaded from the server apparatus 30are replayed.

[0199] On the other hand, after transmitting the decoding key to therecording/reproduction apparatus 10, the server apparatus 30 incrementsthe number of times for which the decoding key of the user/customer IDis transmitted in Step S118. Then, in Step S119, the server apparatus 30determines if a predetermined period of time, e.g., a month, has passedor not. The server apparatus 30 proceeds to Step S120 if thepredetermined period of time has passed, whereas it repeats theoperation of Step S119 if the predetermined period of time has notpassed.

[0200] In Step S120, the server apparatus 30 performs a billingoperation according to the number of times for which the decoding key istransmitted for each user/customer ID during the predetermined period oftime, or the number of times for which audio data are replayed at therecording/reproduction apparatus 10. In this step, the server apparatus30 also generates a discount data with which the discount rate that isapplied when a user/customer purchases package media 2 increases as afunction of the number of times of transmission of the decoding keyduring the predetermined period of time. Then, in Step S121, the serverapparatus 30 transmits the billing data and the discount datarespectively to the billing server apparatus 60 and therecording/reproduction apparatus 10.

[0201] In Step S122, the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 receivesthe discount data from the server apparatus 30. As a result, theuser/customer can know that he or she is eligible for discount whenpurchasing package media 2. For example, the user/customer may outputthe discount data onto a sheet of paper by means of a printer connectedto the recording/reproduction apparatus 10 and produce it to a retailshop when he or she purchases package media 2 next time so that theuser/customer can buy the package media at a discount price. In theabove described system, the discount data of the user/customer who ispurchasing package media 2 in a retail shop can be confirmed by theterminal 50 of the retail shop as shown in FIG. 19.

[0202] In the above instance, the billing data and the discount datagenerated by the server apparatus 30 may alternatively be generated bythe recording/reproduction apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. 14.

[0203] With any of the systems illustrated in FIGS. 18 through 20, theusers/customers, or the subscribers, of the electronic musicdistribution service are encouraged and motivated to purchase packagemedia 2 and utilize the electronic music distribution service more bygenerating the discount data of each user/customer that reflects thefrequency of using the electronic music distribution service and isapplied when the subscriber of the electronic music distribution servicepurchases package media 2.

[0204] While the data recording/reproduction system 1 is described abovein terms of package media 2 of optical discs 4 that are used as objectsof discount, recording media that can be used for the purpose of theinvention include disc cartridges such as magnetic discs andoptomagnetic discs and IC cards containing a solid state memory.Additionally, data that are recorded on the recording media of packagemedia and data that are electronically distributed by way of Internet 3for the purpose of the invention are not limited to audio data and mayinclude video data and game software. Furthermore, optical discs 4 thatare used for the purpose of the invention do not need to be thosestoring contents data recorded in advance and dedicated to reproducingand mint optical discs that has no recorded contents data and can beused for recording data can also be used for the purpose of theinvention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0205] As described above, according to the invention, since thepurchase history of each user/customer who has purchased package mediais managed by means of a purchase history memory, it is possible toprovide discount services and other special services only to theusers/customers who have purchased package media when theyrecord/reproduce contents data.

1. A data recording apparatus comprising: storage means for accumulatinga plurality of contents data; selection means for selecting at least acontents data out of the plurality of contents data accumulated in thestorage means in response to a user/customer input; recording means forrecording the contents data selected by the selection means in a memorymeans; purchase history memory means for storing the package mediapurchase history of the user/customer in the actual world; and controlmeans for controlling the recording means according to the purchasehistory stored in the purchase history memory means.
 2. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising: billing means for generatingbilling data to be stored in the memory means at the time of recordingthe contents data selected by the selection means in the memory means bythe recording means according to the package media purchase history ofeach user/customer.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein saidbilling means generates said billing data for billing saiduser/customer, charging a discounted amount, on the basis of thepurchase history when said recording means records said contents data insaid memory means.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein saidbilling means generates said billing data on the basis of the number oftimes for which said recording means recorded said contents data in saidmemory means.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein saidbilling means generate billing data where ¥0 is charged.
 6. Theapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: input means forinputting the user/customer identifier of the user/customer purchasingthe package media and the media identifier of the package media;determining means for determining if the media identified by the mediaidentifier is covered by the delivery service or not; and updating meansfor incrementing the number of purchase slips stored in the purchasehistory memory means and corresponding to the user/customer identifierinput with the media identifier as determined to be covered by thedelivery service by the determining means.
 7. The apparatus according toclaim 6, wherein said input means has a reading means for reading themedia identifier from said package media and inputting said useridentifier along with the media identifier read out by said readingmeans.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control meanscontrols so as to prohibit the recording means from recording thecontents data in the memory means when the purchase history memory meansdoes not store any purchase history of the user/customer.
 9. A datareproducing apparatus wherein the comprising: storage means foraccumulating a plurality of contents data; selection means for selectingat least a contents data out of the plurality of contents dataaccumulated in the storage means in response to a user/customer input;reproduction means for reproducing the contents data selected by theselection means; purchase history memory means for storing the packagemedia purchase history of the user/customer in the actual world; andcontrol means for controlling the reproduction means according to thepurchase history stored in the purchase history memory means.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: billing means forgenerating a billing data at the time of reproducing by saidreproduction means the contents data selected by the selection means onthe basis of the package media purchase history of each user/customer.11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said billing meansgenerates said billing data for billing said user/customer, charging adiscounted amount, on the basis of the purchase history when saidreproduction means reproduces said contents data.
 12. The apparatusaccording to claim 10, wherein said billing means generates said billingdata on the basis of the number of times for which said reproductionmeans reproduced said contents data.
 13. The apparatus according toclaim 10, wherein said billing means generate billing data where ¥0 ischarged.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:input means for inputting the user/customer identifier of theuser/customer purchasing the package media and the media identifier ofthe package media; determining means for determining if the mediaidentified by the media identifier is covered by the delivery service ornot; and updating means for incrementing the number of purchase slipsstored in the purchase history memory means and corresponding to theuser/customer identifier input with the media identifier as determinedto be covered by the delivery service by the determining means.
 15. Theapparatus according to claim 14, wherein said input means has a readingmeans for reading the media identifier from said package media andinputting said user identifier along with the media identifier read outby said reading means.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 9, whereinsaid control means controls so as to prohibit the reproduction meansfrom reproducing the contents data when the purchase history memorymeans does not store any purchase history of the user/customer.
 17. Acommunication apparatus comprising: an storage means for accumulating aplurality of contents data; purchase history memory means for storingthe package media purchase history of the user/customer in the actualworld; transmission means for transmitting at least one of the pluralityof contents data accumulated in the storage means and the purchasehistory corresponding to the user/customer to the user/customerterminal; and control means for controlling the operation of recordingthe contents data in the memory section at the user/customer terminalaccording to the purchase history stored in the purchase history memorymeans.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:receiving means for receiving the user/customer identifier of theuser/customer purchasing the package media and the media identifier ofthe package media; determining means for determining if the mediaidentified by the media identifier is covered by the delivery service ornot; and updating means for incrementing the number of purchase slipsstored in the purchase history memory means and corresponding to theuser/customer identifier input with the media identifier as determinedto be covered by the delivery service by the determining means.
 19. Adata recording apparatus comprising: selection means for selecting atleast a contents data out of the plurality of contents data accumulatedin an accumulating means in response to a user/customer input; recordingmeans for recording the contents data selected by the selection means ina memory means; and control means for controlling the recording meansaccording to the package media purchase history of the user/customer inthe actual world.
 20. The apparatus according to claim 19, furthercomprising: billing means for generating billing data at the time ofrecording the contents data selected by the selection means in thememory means by the recording means according to the package mediapurchase history of each user/customer.
 21. The apparatus according toclaim 20, wherein said billing means generates said billing data forbilling said user/customer, charging a discounted amount, on the basisof the purchase history when said recording means records said contentsdata in said memory means.
 22. The apparatus according to claim 20,wherein said billing means generates said billing data on the basis ofthe number of times for which said recording means recorded saidcontents data in said memory means.
 23. The apparatus according to claim20, wherein said billing means generate billing data where ¥0 ischarged.
 24. The apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising:reading means for reading a media identifier from a package media andtransmission means for transmitting the user/customer identifier withthe media identifier read by the reading means.
 25. The apparatusaccording to claim 19, wherein said control means controls so as toprohibit the recording means from recording the contents data in thememory means when the purchase history memory means of package media ofan external device does not store any purchase history corresponding tothe user/customer.
 26. A communication apparatus comprising: storagemeans for accumulating a plurality of contents data; purchase historymemory means for storing the package media purchase history of theuser/customer in the actual world; transmission means for transmittingat least one of the plurality of contents data accumulated in thestorage means and the purchase history corresponding to theuser/customer to the user/customer terminal; and control means forcontrolling the operation of reproducing the contents data at theuser/customer terminal according to the purchase history stored in thepurchase history memory means.
 27. The apparatus according to claim 26further comprising: receiving means for receiving the user/customeridentifier of the user/customer purchasing the package media and themedia identifier of the package media; determining means for determiningif the media identified by the media identifier is covered by thedelivery service or not; and updating means for incrementing the numberof purchase slips stored in the purchase history memory means andcorresponding to the user/customer identifier input with the mediaidentifier as determined to be covered by the delivery service by thedetermining means.
 28. A data reproducing apparatus comprising:selection means for selecting at least a contents data out of theplurality of contents data accumulated in an storage means in responseto a user/customer input; reproduction means for reproducing thecontents data selected by the selection means; and control means forcontrolling the reproduction means according to the package mediapurchase history of the user/customer in the actual world.
 29. Theapparatus according to claim 28, further comprising: billing means forgenerating billing data at the time of reproducing by said reproductionmeans the contents data selected by the selection means on the basis ofthe package media purchase history of each user/customer.
 30. Theapparatus according to claim 29, wherein said billing means generatessaid billing data for billing said user/customer, charging a discountedamount, on the basis of the purchase history when said reproductionmeans reproduces said contents data.
 31. The apparatus according toclaim 29, wherein said billing means generates said billing data on thebasis of the number of times for which said reproduction meansreproduced said contents data.
 32. The apparatus according to claim 29,wherein said billing means generate billing data where ¥0 is charged.33. The apparatus according to claim 28, further comprising: readingmeans for reading a media identifier from a package media andtransmission means for transmitting the user/customer identifier withthe media identifier read by the reading means.
 34. The apparatusaccording to claim 28, wherein said control means controls so as toprohibit the reproduction means from reproducing the contents data whenthe purchase history memory means of package media of an external devicedoes not store any purchase history corresponding to the user/customer.35. A data recording apparatus comprising: storage means foraccumulating a plurality of contents data; selection means for selectingat least a contents data out of the plurality of contents dataaccumulated in the storage means in response to a user/customer input;recording means for recording the contents data selected by theselection means in a memory means; number of times of recording datagenerating means for generating number of times of recording dataaccording to the number of times of recording by the recording means ofthe contents data stored in the memory means; and discount datagenerating means for generating discount data to be used at the timewhen the package media is purchased as a function of the number of timesof recording data generated by the number of times of recording datagenerating means.
 36. A data reproducing apparatus comprising: storagemeans for accumulating a plurality of contents data; selection means forselecting at least a contents data out of the plurality of contents dataaccumulated in the storage means in response to a user/customer input;reproduction means for reproducing the contents data selected by theselection means; number of times of reproduction data generating meansfor generating number of times of reproduction data according to thenumber of times of reproduction by the reproducing means of the contentsdata; and a discount data generating means for generating discount datato be used at the time when the package media is purchased as a functionof the number of times of reproduction data generated by the number oftimes of reproduction data generating means.
 37. A data recording methodcomprising: a step of selecting at least a contents data out of theplurality of contents data accumulated in an storage means in responseto a user/customer input; a step of storing the package media purchasehistory of the user/customer in the actual world; and a step ofrecording the selected contents data in a memory section according tothe purchase history.
 38. A data reproducing method comprising: a stepof selecting at least a contents data out of the plurality of contentsdata accumulated in an storage means in response to a user/customerinput; a step of storing the package media purchase history of theuser/customer in the actual world; and a step of reproducing theselected contents data according to the purchase history.
 39. Acommunication method comprising: a step of storing the package mediapurchase history of the user/customer in the actual world; a step oftransmitting at least a contents data out of the plurality of contentsdata accumulated in an storage means and the purchase historycorresponding to the user/customer to the user/customer terminal; and astep of controlling the operation of recording the contents data to thememory means at the user/customer terminal according to the purchasehistory.
 40. A data recording method comprising: a step of selecting atleast a contents data out of the plurality of contents data accumulatedin an storage means in response to a user/customer input; and a step ofrecording the selected contents data in a memory means according to thepackage media purchase history of said user/customer in the actualworld.
 41. A communication method comprising: a step of storing thepackage media purchase history of the user/customer in the actual world;a step of transmitting at least a contents data out of the plurality ofcontents data accumulated in an storage means and the purchase historycorresponding to the user/customer to the user/customer terminal; and astep of controlling the operation of reproducing the contents data atthe user/customer terminal according to the purchase history.
 42. A datareproducing method comprising: a step of selecting at least a contentsdata out of the plurality of contents data accumulated in an storagemeans in response to a user/customer input; and a step of reproducingthe selected contents data according to the package media purchasehistory of said user/customer in the actual world.
 43. A data recordingmethod comprising: a step of selecting at least a contents data out ofthe plurality of contents data accumulated in an storage means inresponse to a user/customer input; a step of recording the selectedcontents data in a memory means; a step of generating number of times ofrecording data according to the number of times of recording of saidcontents data in said memory means; and a step of generating discountdata to be used at the time when the package media is purchased as afunction of the generated number of times of recording of data.
 44. Adata reproducing method comprising: a step of selecting at least acontents data out of the plurality of contents data accumulated in anstorage means in response to a user/customer input; a step ofreproducing the selected contents data; a step of generating number oftimes of reproduction data according to the number of times ofreproduction of said contents data; and a step of generating discountdata to be used at the time when the package media is purchased as afunction of the generated number of times of reproduction of data.